Abstract

Natural selection is generally considered to be a process exclusive to the domain of biotic systems. In this paper, a universal, five phase set of dynamics are identified as a framework underpinning the natural selection that occurs in all processes, governing every interaction at every scale, from the quantum to the intergalactic. The theoretical model describes a two-tendency universe, where the tensions that exist between syntropy and entropy provide the context for functional synergies from which all matter and material systems emerge, supporting a theory of general, biotic and cognitive evolution.